Bookfan, Is there any way to find out from your vet how large a dose of diazepam should be used? I'm thinking that if it's not something that originally was made to give to guinea pigs, there might not be any standard information regarding this. I'm not sure though.

So we finally implemented the plexi glass idea in the cage a couple of weeks ago. Had one made to fit the cage opening, drilled some holes and attached it with cobber wire. I'll rework it, using strips I think, as the wire is pointy, so you could cut yourself on it if your unlucky. See the picture below:

I might also have to do a bit of sanding on the bottom edge of the glass, as it has a bit of a sharp edge. I'm worried that the girls might cut the bottom of their feet if they are standing up and resting their front paws on the edge of the glass, when begging for food. This sometimes happen when I bring them vegetables and open the cage door.

We had Abigail to the vet yesterday to get a look at a small lump she had on the side. I had the vet do a follow up x-ray on her to check for stones, before committing to the experimental treatment discussed earlier, and there was nothing to see! I'm so happy as I was really worried that new stones had formed already. I'm also a bit perplexed regarding her squeaking. It still happens every now and then, sometimes I notice it once a day, sometimes like 3-5, other days there's nothing. She still seems happy, and like herself, eating and relaxed. It was the same years ago, if I remember correctly, when we first started to notice.

The vet removed the small lump, but it was such a small operation that she was pretty ok when she came home. Almost started to eat instantly. The most important thing is that she's ok :)

I'm not exactly sure how many x-rays they did, as my wife was in charge of dropping her off and picking her up afterwards. I will give them a call later today and ask them. Regarding the sludge, can the vet check for that? You mentioned two x-rays, should they be taken from different angles or something like that?

I took a picture of Abigails pee the other day as I heard her squeaking a bit and went to have a look. I have marked the pee with a red ring, but it's a bit hard to see at a quick glance.

Yes, two xrays are for two separate views to confirm stones/sludge. Sometimes a stone can hide or there can be an anomaly so two views are standard.

I can't tell much from your picture. To check for sludge, a medium or dark colored cotton cloth helps a lot. It is important to note that pee changes depending on what was recently eaten (or at least it seemed to - I used to see substantial piles of excreted calcium [not grit, powder] a while after eating romaine lettuce). So it could be relatively clear one time and could include lots of excreted calcium the next.

Sludge should also show up on an xray if present. I am guessing that for a guinea pig that had a problem with sludge, it would depend on how much there was and how efficient the guinea pig's body is at excreting it. Increasing fluids and vibration can help suspend sludge and encourage excretion.

So stones (more likely) and sludge are two conditions that could account for the squeaking. Could also be something else.

Had a talk with the vet to clear some things up. They did take two x-rays to be sure, but none of them showed stones or sludge. They are not entirely sure what it is, but we haven't hear that much squeaking since the operation last Monday. Overall Abigail is doing really well, and is healing nicely. She seems really happy and is back to her old self again.

Regarding the plexi glass. Do you guys think that sanding the edges is necessary?

Regarding sanding the plexiglass, use your own judgement. If it is attached, you'd have to detach it. I have a file I use on almost everything (except metal) that very quickly rounds/breaks edges of wood pieces (and would work on this). So depending on if you're worried about it and what you have available to use, you can sand/file or not.